Legacy
by EllieLloyd
Summary: "What legacy will you leave Malfoy?" She whispered. Accused? She didn't sound angry. Just sad perhaps? No, that's not it. "When all of this is over. This... mess is finally finished." She looked out at Dumbledore's tomb, "How will they tell your story?"


**It was a chilly night at Hogwarts, the wind whistling through the gaps it always seemed to find in the ancient stone walls.**

**Tendrils of darkness caressed the hem of the standard issue, ink black, school cloak of one Hermione Granger as she slunk from the library in the general direction of Gryffindor Tower. **

**She slowed slightly, registering the slight shuffling sound behind her indicating the presence of another person in the general vicinity. Her wand wasn't lit and she had an uncanny knack of moving almost silently, a skill honed from years of evading Filch and his feline crony, was it possible that she had been spotted or was this person oblivious to their midnight company?**

**Her mass of hair was beginning to fall out of its bun, having been scraped back out of her face as she researched all known details of Lord Voldemort's life, if you could call it that, thus far. Her hope was to discover something, anything that may give them some kind of, however miniscule, edge over their enemy. Something big was coming, they all knew it, could feel it and it was better to know as much as possible as soon as possible.**

**Harry and Ron weren't convinced that there was any more to learn that Dumbledore wouldn't tell them, however Hermione Granger firmly believed that preparation for anything was prudent. **

**The gentle swooshing of a cloak that was not her own alerted her, through her musings, that her company was closing in behind her and if she hadn't been spotted thus far she would be soon unless she managed to evade them.**

**Spotting a broom cupboard up ahead with its door open enough that she may be able to slip through quietly, she sped up slightly pulling her cloak in around her to avoid getting the material caught and turned slightly at an angle almost slipping through the door silently. Almost.**

**She had misjudged the gap. Her shoulder blade pushed the door open a miniscule amount more which wouldn't have been an issue if it weren't for the fact that the vast majority of hinges in the castle hadn't been oiled in the past decade.**

**Cursing the incompetence of caretakers who spent too much of their time meddling in the night-time comings and goings of students and too little time actually care-taking, she waited with baited breath for the inevitable confrontation.**

**As the footsteps clipped closer she prepared for a tongue lashing from one teacher or other, and was surprised, though not exactly pleasantly, by the appearance of a tall, slim blonde at the doorway. His lip turned up into a familiar sneer when he recognised her and he opened his mouth to no doubt spout some poisonous rubbish or other, but she didn't let him get that far.**

"**Oh, it's only you." She quietly stated, "Good. Excuse me; I would like to get back to bed some time before dawn."**

**Turning her heel, she strode away with the intention of walking directly past him and back into the hall before he could detain her further. He disappointed her though, by placing a cashmere clad arm purposefully across her exit, and giving her a smirk which quite clearly said 'it will not be that easy'.**

"**Granger, I would expect someone so bookish to know it is terrible manners to dismiss your betters in such a manner."**

**Hermione rolled warm, whisky eyes back at him with a small snort of disbelief, "Well, if I come across one of my betters on my journey back to my dorm I can safely promise you to be vastly polite and accommodating. However, in such company as yours, I feel it best to leave before my temper gets the best of me!" she quipped before ducking nimbly under his arm and through the still-open door.**

**Thinking she had made a rather nifty escape, Hermione hurried away, black Mary-Janes clicking as her urge to get to bed and, and also away from Malfoy, outweighed her worry about the likes of Filch lurking. It was not to be though, for the sound of brogue clad feet joined her in a veritable orchestra of sound in the silent corridor. **

**Whirling around, she confronted the rather miffed Slytherin with an irritated whisper, "For goodness sake Malfoy, you move with all the grace of a bull in a china shop, quiet down. In fact, stop following me and go to bed. I can't think what amusement you can possibly find from antagonising me at goodness knows what time in a drafty hallway." She huffed and raised an eyebrow.**

**He looked down and shuffled a foot in a very uncharacteristic display of... indecision perhaps? Some odd emotion passed across his face and he looked up with renewed determination, directly in her eyes, "Tell Potter... Be prepared, He is planning. I can't say more at the moment and I don't expect you to trust me... Just know that my position is uncertain. My parents..."**

**He seemed to consider saying more, then thought better of it and with a shake of his head, turned to stride away down the corridor. He turned back once to murmur so gently she was almost unsure he had even spoken, "Filch is hanging around 2****nd**** floor, if you go through the shortcut behind the tapestry of the 12****th**** century Goblin wars you should bypass him altogether." And with that he was gone. **

**It was rather anti-climactic really, she felt a little let down at the lack of a puff of smoke or some such dramatics. With a sigh she made her way towards the 2****nd**** floor, almost walking straight past the tapestry Malfoy had mentioned before slowing to a halt and shaking her head at her own inquisitive nature. She should be smarter than this, certainly smarter than trusting him, yet she pulled back the heavy, moth-bitten, material against her own better judgement and was pleasantly surprised to find a narrow passage. Yet it could lead anywhere. If she walked for 20 minutes and came out near the kitchens she was going to hunt Malfoy down and make sure the family line would end with him, in one way or another.**

**Try though she might, her head couldn't seem to convince her feet that this wasn't a good idea and she began to step into the gap in the stone. Hearing a chilling meow behind her made the final decision for her and she hurled herself down the passage, dropping the tapestry down to cover her escape route as she went. Imagine her surprise when not 5 minutes later, after a rather steep climb and despite all her scepticism, she fell butt over head through a seemingly solid wall into a rather familiar portion of Hogwarts not 2 minutes walk from the Fat Lady.**

"**Taking surprisingly helpful advice from the progeny of Lucius Malfoy, Death Eater extraordinaire, perhaps I left my marbles in the library." Hermione mumbled to herself as she climbed into bed, further musings would have to wait for the light of day as she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.**


End file.
